Positron Emission Tomography with Pittsburgh Compound B in Diagnosis of Early Stage Alzheimer’s Disease

In order to evaluate the role of positron emission tomography (PET) with N-methyl-[11C]-2-(4′-methylaminophenyl)-6-hydroxybenzothiazole, also known as Pittsburgh compound B (PIB), in the early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Clinical data were collected, and PIB PET cerebral imaging was performed in patients with AD (n = 6), mild cognitive impairment (MCI) (n = 7), and elderly, mentally normal controls (NCs) (n = 7). PET images of the subjects were then analyzed. Visual analysis showed that the radioactivity clearance rate in AD patients was significantly different from that found in the NC group. Furthermore, the radioactivity clearance rate 45 min after PIB injection was significantly lower than the NC group. Images from the MCI group presented heterogeneous results, overlapping with those from both the AD and NC groups. Statistical analysis showed that the radioactivity clearance rate during 5–45 min post-injection was significantly lower in the AD group (41–77%) than the control group (75–81%) (P > 0.05) and the MCI group (59–77%). The radioactivity clearance rate in the bilateral parietal lobes, frontal, temporal, and right occipital lobes, and the bilateral corpora striata in MCI group were lower than that in control group (P < 0.05). PIB PET brain imaging can differentiate early AD patients from NCs and may have certain value in identifying patients progressing to MCI.